


Libraries are magic

by WeirdV



Series: Let's write some prompts, cause it's fun. [7]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU, College!AU, Fluff, Getting Together, Library, M/M, No Werewolves, both students
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-11
Updated: 2014-11-11
Packaged: 2018-02-25 01:34:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2603684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeirdV/pseuds/WeirdV
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles has his spot at the library.</p><p> </p><p>Here’s the thing.<br/>Libraries are magic. And nobody will ever convince him otherwise.<br/>In a way it’s a contradiction. Because he’s supposed to be hyperactive, and unable to sit still and focus. But if you give him a book, he can lose himself in it for hours.<br/>Finding the library was his first point of order when he got to college, and finding it was easy. And then he found the spot.</p><p> </p><p>From melodramaticguitarsolo's "important college AUs to consider for your otp":<br/>"we’ve never talked but your favorite spot in the library is right across from my favorite spot so i see you all the time and sometimes we give each other commiserating looks"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Libraries are magic

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is a quick fic I wrote because I felt like it.  
> The ADHD things are personal experience, because I have ADHD. So, yeah, that's a thing :)
> 
> And - libraries are magic. I stand by that.
> 
> now available in russian: here;   
>  [ **in russian** ](https://ficbook.net/readfic/4180312)

 

**Libraries are magic**

 

Here’s the thing.

Libraries are magic. And nobody will ever convince him otherwise.

In a way it’s a contradiction. Because he’s supposed to be hyperactive, and unable to sit still and focus. But if you give him a book, he can lose himself in it for hours.

Finding the library was his first point of order when he got to college, and finding it was easy. And then he found _the spot._

 Sure, there are desks, and chairs, and sockets for your laptop. But Stiles has his _spot_ somewhere else. It’s not hard to find, in fact, it’s easy. It’s just another row of books, another aisle between the shelves. There’s a window at the end, and a socket for his laptop or phone – if he ever needs one – and a light. The shelves are filled with books, old ones, and nobody ever goes there. He has a perfect view of the shelves of the law books, meaning he sees a lot of law students pass by. But Stiles loves his little spot. Leaning against the wall, the window overhead, and his books and notebook scattered around him. That’s another thing. Stiles can’t study on his laptop. Write essays, sure, but studying? No way. He uses his books, prints out exercises to practice, studies cases in reports and uses his notes from class. Stiles is one of those rare students that doesn’t bring a laptop to class but a notebook. It works for him.

Besides, he knows that most students who bring their laptop to class only end up on facebook or tumblr. He prefers to avoid those temptations.

His spot, it’s where Stiles finds peace. Where he plugs in his headphones, pulls out his notebooks and books and just – studies.

So, yeah, libraries are magic. No room for discussion there.

 ~~~

Derek has noticed him. It’s hard not to, to be honest. He started when Derek was in his third year of law. Everyone knows him – or at least – of him. The guys who always sits between the aisles, rows of old books nobody ever looks at unless they’re really desperate. He always has his headphones plugged in, a notebook in front of him and – more often than not – a pen between his teeth. Every once in a while he’ll get up, leaving his stuff behind as he searches the library for a specific book. The pen always between his lips, the headphones always on his head. Derek has seen people walk up to him, attempting to get his attention. They’re rarely successful. He always looks so – focused.

So – when on a Wednesday afternoon – Derek enters the library to find the guy staring in front of him, well. It’s odd.

Because he doesn’t have his headphones on, he’s not writing anything down as he normally does. All he does is stare in front of him, his phone in his hands. After a moment he shakes his head, and for a second Derek swears the guy smiles at him, before focusing on his phone again.

 ~~~

Normally Stiles has no trouble focusing when he’s in his spot. That’s the thing about the library. Besides being magic, it is also little distracting. He gets all his work done there.

But today something is – off.

He can’t quite explain, but the day started off wrong. He forgot his headphones, he can’t make sense of his notes and he can’t stop staring at his phone. He doesn’t know why, but when it starts ringing after a while, he’s not even surprised.

 

The guys is just staring at his phone when it starts ringing. He frowns for a second before picking it up, and Derek can hear the conversation all the way to where he’s standing.

“Hi, dad” he says, a weak smile on his face, “no, school is great.”

There’s a pause and the guy starts gathering his stuff, quickly pushing it into his bag with his one free hand.

“Where are you now?” he asks urgently, throwing his bag over his shoulder as he gets up, “I can be there in forty five. I don’t care if you’re fine, dad. You got shot, I’m allowed to worry about you. Okay, see you soon.”

 ~~~

Stiles doesn’t quite know how, but somehow he’s standing in the middle of the library and someone is holding up his notebook towards him.

“You dropped this” the man says with an uncertain smile, “are you okay?”

Stiles takes the book and nods, “Yeah, fine” he says, “My dad just got shot” he says, seeing the  man’s eyes widen in shock, “He’s a sheriff. Not a criminal” he quickly explains.

“Do you need help getting there?” he asks, Stiles shakes his head.

“No, uhm. I got a bus every fifteen minutes” he says, “But thanks, though. Uhm?”

“Derek” he says, Stiles smiles at him.

“Stiles” he introduces himself, the man – Derek – takes a step to the side to make room for Stiles.

“I hope he’s okay. Your dad, I mean” he says, Stiles smiles at him and nods.

“He always is” he says, making his way for the exit, “Doesn’t stop me from worrying, though.”

~~~

 _Stiles._ That’s his name. it had been Derek’s number one ambition to find out his name the moment he laid eyes on the guy. But it’s not enough. Because now he knows several things about the guy. His name is Stiles, his dad is a sheriff, he studies without a computer, and he chews on his pens. A lot. It’s distracting.

Not a lot changes when Stiles gets back to school three days later – after making sure his dad is being well taken care of my Melissa. Except one thing, he now greets Derek with a smile every time he sees him.

He’d noticed the guy, it’s hard not to, and finding out he was not only cute but also nice. Well. It didn’t help much.

Because Stiles now knew a few things about the man. His name is Derek, he studies law – or so Stiles deduces since he’s always perusing the American law section in the library – and he often calls a woman named Cora. Stiles reasons that’s his sister, since he also calls her _sis_ on the phone.

 ~~~

“So” Scott says as he catches up with Stiles in the hallway, “How was your dad?”

“He’s fine” Stiles says with a sigh, “I always freak out, you know that. And then I rush over and find out that he’s okay. But I can’t…”

“Nobody’s judging, you know” Scott says, shooting his friend a worried look, “remember a few years ago, when they had that shooting at the hospital? I freaked out, even though I knew my mom wasn’t even working at the moment.”

“But then it turned out she was, remember” Stiles says shaking his head at the memory, “Still. I feel like an idiot sometimes, barging into his hospital room and near panicking only to find him eating a pudding cup and talking to your mom like they’re having a tea party.”

“I know” Scott shrugs, “Still, better safe than sorry, right?”

“Right” he echoes, pushing open the door to the lunchroom, “When do your midterms start, by the way?”

“Next week Wednesday, first one” he says with a sigh, “Animal anatomy. You?”

“psychology of the criminally insane” he says, nodding at Derek as they pass him on their way to the food.

“Who’s that?” Scott says, glancing at the man over his shoulder.

“Derek” Stiles replies, taking a tray and looking at the meals of the day.

“Okay. And how do you know him?” Scott frowns, taking an apple and placing it on his tray.

“I don’t know him. Well, not really” Stiles shrugs, “He asked me if I was okay. In the library, after I got dad’s call last week.”

“Oh” Scott nods, “So you guys exchanged names, he was nice, and now you’re on the _we nod at each other every day_ stage of the relationship.”

Stiles rolls his eyes as he grabs a pudding.

“Just” Scott starts with his most serious expression and tone, “Don’t rush into this, Stiles. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Shut up, idiot” Stiles says, bumping against his shoulder and Scott snorts in response.

“Seriously, though” Scott continues, glancing at Derek again who is sitting down with his friends, “He seems nice. You should ask him out.”

“Because he asked me if I was okay?” Stiles asks incredulously as he stares at Scott for a second, “Which, of course, makes sense for you. You asked Allison out after lending her a pen.”

“Actually, I asked her out after she ran over a dog with her car” Scott says with a stupid grin, “I asked out Kira after she got attacked by a coyote.”

“Technically her dad asked you out” Stiles corrects him, Scott gags and shakes his head.

“Please don’t say it like that” he says quickly, “You make it sound like I dated her dad first…”

“Speaking of, how is Kira?” Stiles asks, as they make their way to pay for their lunch, “She still working on the preserve?”

“Yeah, she loves it” Scott says, Kira had graduated a year early and did a course on wildlife care. She was currently doing her first year of her two year internship at a wildlife preserve not far from Beacon Hills. She was one of the lucky few who managed to get a paid internship.

“That’s great” Stiles mutters in response, they walk through the lunchroom and find a free seat at a table by the windows.

“That reminds me, uhm” Scott bites his lip, “She’s visiting next week, Monday. Right before midterms. I was hoping if –.“

“Let me guess, you’re planning a romantic dinner?” he asks, Scott nods, “Well, the library closes at midnight, can you finish dinner before then?”

“Yeah, I should be able to do that” he says with a smile, “Thanks, Stiles. You’re the best.”

“Yeah, don’t you forget about that.”

 

~~~

 

Now that Derek knows his name, he starts seeing him more often. He sees him at the lunchroom with a friend – he thinks the guy’s name is Scott – discussing midterms and other things. He sees him in the hallway talking to a gorgeous redhead in stiletto’s and a lilac summer dress. He sees him on the bleachers while running laps. And, of course, he sees him at the library. His nose buried in books.

Derek himself spends a lot of time at the library for some reason. He shares an apartment with Cora, now that she started college too, and she is dead set on experiencing college life _right._ Which means that she often stays out ‘til two am, brings home guys and girls to her liking, and doesn’t clean.

She also insists on playing her music on maximum volume and studies by reading from her books and notes out loud. Which is the main reason that Derek often spends his evening in the library. Today, however, he is surprised to find Stiles there as well. Normally he leaves at seven, a few hours before Derek, and gets a cup of coffee half an hour before he leaves. Derek has been in the aisle for the past hour or so, well, he’s been going back and forth between the aisle and his desk, trying to find the right passage or reference for his essay. But after going back and forth for the seventh time, he glances at Stiles. Who is sitting on the floor, his books around him, leafing through a book on his left, and then through the one in front of him before making a note in his notebook. Derek sighs, grabs his laptop and bag from his desk and makes his way to the aisle. Dropping his bag and setting down his laptop carefully before pulling out four different books and looking through them.

 ~~~

Stiles looks up when he sees the movement in his peripheral vision.

Derek has grabbed his stuff and dropped it in the aisle right across from him, pulling out several books and frantically looking through them. At this time of night, the library is almost dead silent. There’s only one other person there studying, and Stiles only knows because the woman had been coughing a few minutes ago. Stiles looks at Derek for a moment, watching him search through books and typing down things and then he looks up and their eyes meet.

Stiles frowns at him and Derek just shrugs in response, as if to say ‘it’s easier like this’ as he gestures towards the books around him. He nods at Stiles, pointing at his watch. Stiles shrugs back, holding up his notebook. They smile at each other for a second and then get back to work.

 

~~~

 

That’s how it starts, really. Or at least, that’s when Derek thinks it starts. Stiles stays at the library longer and longer, and although they never really talk to each other, they always have short interactions filled with expressions and shrugs and smiles. And somehow – Derek doesn’t quite know when it happens – he starts looking forward to those little moments. Those little smiles they exchange, the wordless interactions and the sight of Stiles smiling to himself when he listens to his music.

 

He finds out Stiles studies criminology one evening when Stiles gets up and makes his way towards the American law section. For a second Derek thinks he’s coming over to talk to him, and he frowns in confusion as Stiles smiles at him, stands on his toes, and pulls out a book from the top shelf. Derek can just read the title as he walks back to his spot.

“The criminally insane in the American justice system, historical references”

Two minutes later, Stiles is back in his spot, buried in his book and gone to the rest of the world.

 

~~~

 

Midterms go – well – okay. Stiles knows he won’t be finishing first, he still has his ADHD. But he’s confident he passed. He studied his ass off, he worked hard, he passed. The thing that makes him angry is knowing some of his classmates passed too, even though they barely studied at all.

Here’s the thing. Stiles knows he’s lucky. He’s studying something he loves, he got a scholarship and he works hard. But for the grades he gets, he has to work three times as hard. His classmates, he knows, study a week before midterms start. They read over the passages from the books, they don’t take notes, and they just study a week.

Stiles started studying and summarizing a week after classes started. And he knows that – if some people from his class studied only half as hard as he did, they’d pass cum laude.

It makes him angry, and sad, and sometimes absolutely furious. Because he sees it all the time. People giving up because it’s too hard. But then he reasons that – if you can’t make it through school – you’re probably not cut out for the job.

So yeah, his midterms are okay. His essay however is – well.

He is _fucking_ proud of that thing. He slaved over it, referenced correctly, had Scott and Lydia proofread for him – Lydia is an absolute angel in her own way – and he wrote and rewrote and rewrote again for more than a month. And he is _proud._ So he expects to do well, however – he never expected this. He looks at his paper on his desk.

_See me after class._

 That’s all it says, and he feels his mouth go dry, and his hands sweaty as the bell rings and he slowly walks over to the teacher’s desk.

“Uhm – sir?” he asks uncertainly, “Was something wrong with my paper?”

The man frowns for a second and then smiles brightly, “No! No, mister Stilinski. Not at all. Quite the opposite” he says, “It was an absolute pleasure reading it. I liked your view on the matter, and the way you connected the different cases were unique, and – to be honest – inspiring. I can honestly say I’ve never given such a high grade on a paper for as long as I’ve been teaching here.”

“Oh” Stiles stares at him, unable to stop the grin breaking out on his face, “That’s – awesome. Thank you, sir.”

“No problem” he says, putting some papers into his binder, “Thing is, I was wondering if you’d like to take some extra credit.”

“How do you mean?” he asks, the teacher just smiles.

“You know not everyone is as bright at you” he starts, “I’ve read your file, I know you have a learning disability. But you have a knack for papers and essays, Stilinski. Even the short essay you had to write on your midterm was inspiring.”

“Thanks?” he says, not sure what the teacher is getting to.

“Yes. So I want to ask you for something. It’s in no way an obligation, so feel free to decline if you feel you can’t fit it into your schedule” he says, Stiles nods, “I have a few students who struggle with writing papers. I’d give them some pointers myself, but sadly I’m not allowed to do so by the school. Some bullshit about not paying for extra hours, and preferential treatment for student. But they have agreed on me appointing a student to help out others for extra credit.”

“That sounds interesting, what would it mean exactly?” he asks uncertainly, the teacher smiles.

“Well, I pulled some strings to get this done. But you would be a tutor. You won’t be connected to the school, but – if needed – I can arrange an empty classroom for you to use. The students you’ll be helping will pay you, so it’s not for free. And it counts as extra credit” he explains, “You will also be able to pass on questions to me, when you’re not sure how to help them. And – as a thank you – I can allow you more time during midterms.”

“Oh” Stiles smiles, “Well, that sounds great, sir. But I sort of have to ask – what’s the catch?”

“Hmm” the teacher laughs amusedly and shakes his head, “Well, it’ll have to be evenings. So, your partying will suffer from it.”

“luckily I don’t party” Stiles says with a grin, “Unless you count marathoning agents of SHIELD as partying.”

“I do” he says with a solemn nod, “But I’m still halfway season two, so no spoilers.”

“Sure thing” Stiles grins, “well, then. I’d like to take you up on that offer, sir.”

“Great. I’ll ask around, and I’ll email you the details” he says, “Don’t worry about people applying for it. I’ll let them know that it’s not as optional as they’d think.”

 

 

~~~

 

Derek is surprised when he hears it.

Cora – his little sister who loves to party – is on the phone asking for information in a tutor. Apparantly, getting her results from the midterms put things in perspective.

“Okay, so, Stilinski?” she asks, writing down the name, “And his phone number?”

She writes down the number on a notepad and rolls her eyes, “Okay, thank you sir. I’ll give him a call right away.”

“What’s going on?” Derek asks, Cora sighs and rolls her eyes.

“Well, my paper wasn’t really good, and the teacher told me to take this guy’s course. Well, not really a course. He’s in my class, and he appointed him to help out those whose paper sucked” she says, “Made it clear that it’s not really optional.”

“How much will it cost?” he asks, dropping his bag by the door and checking his phone, she shrugs.

“Don’t know. I think about fifty for each session? No – wait” she says pulling up her notepad, “thirty five for group sessions, fifty for a personal session. Groups are every Friday night, well, evening.”

“Something tells me you’ll be going for personal sessions” Derek sighs, she smiles sweetly at him. He knows his sister, she loves to go out. But she also has a kind heart. Fridays, for example, she volunteers at a local animal shelter. So yeah, she might party on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday night, she might marathon her TV-series on Monday and Tuesday. But on Friday she’s at the shelter, no exceptions. And just for that, Derek is really proud of her. But then again, big brothers are always proud of their little sister. He remembers her first day of school and how he’d felt so proud walking her to her classroom with their parents. How he’d told everyone in his class about his little sister Cora. He also remembered how Cora used to look up to him, admire him just because he was her big brother. And she still did, she was proud of him too. He was doing well in school, he was starting an internship at a lawfirm in a few weeks, and his grades were good.

She just didn’t say it anymore.

Or at least, not to him.

 

~~~

 

Stiles has done three group sessions helping people with their writing. Some things he struggles with, but writing, it’s his second nature. He loves it. And he’s good at it.

He got their papers a week earlier, making notes on them in preparation for the sessions. He had been nervous, but it had been a breeze.

Today, however, he was meeting up with a girl for a private session.

“I can’t do Fridays” she said on the phone, “I volunteer at the animal shelter.”

“Right” Stiles had replied, “My friend Scott volunteers there on Thursday. You must be Cora, then?”

“Yeah” she had sounded a bit freaked out – Stiles didn’t hold that against her, “Look, can we meet at my place? Wednesday night? That’s when my brother normally studies at the library. It’ll be quieter.”

“Sure.”

 

And that is how Stiles found himself standing outside the building a week later and being buzzed in.

“Make yourself at home” she says with a weak smile, grabbing some empty cans from the table and dropping them in a trashcan in the kitchen.

“Okay” he says uncertainly, trying to ignore the mess and looking for a place to put his stuff.

“Give me a second” she sighs, “I’ll make some room.”

Once they’re settles Stiles pulls out her paper and shows it to her.

“Over all your ideas are good” he says, “But you don’t have an introduction or a conclusion. You just jump right in. You also have to avoid using ‘I’ in papers, use a more passive voice when writing. And your referencing is wrong. You don’t use the APA norms to reference, but you just copy titles and authors. You have to give page numbers and chapters, especially when quoting directly.”

“Okay” she says, grabbing her pen and a notepad, “And how do I do that?”

 

~~~

 

Derek gets home earlier than usual, he doesn’t really know why. He hovers by the door for a second, hearing the voices through the door and remembering Cora having her tutoring session today.

He decides not to care and opens the door, making his way to the living room after dropping his bag at its usual place by the door.

“Hey, Der” Cora shouts from the kitchen counter where she’s talking animatedly with her tutor. Her papers are pushed to the side and they’re looking at her laptop, a screenshot from some superhero movie on the screen.

“Cora” he says, “I take it your lesson went good?”

“Perfect” she says with a smile, “Stilinski, this is my brother.”

The guy turns around and Derek freezes midway, because that’s Stiles.

“Oh” Stiles smiles at him, “Hi Derek.”

“Wait – you know each other?” Cora frowns and Stiles shrugs.

“We’ve never really talked but his favorite spot in the library is right across from my favorite spot”  Stiles explains, “so I see him all the time and sometimes we give each other commiserating looks."

Cora looks at her brother for a while, and Derek wants to sink into the ground because he knows what’s coming next.

“So” Cora turns to Stiles with a wicked grin – so maybe Derek doesn’t know what’s coming next, “You like my brother?”

“Uhm – I don’t really know him?” he says, biting his lip uncertainly, “But he’s nice. And helpful.”

“I know, right?” Cora smiles broadly, “When I was little he used to walk me to class all the time. Making sure I wasn’t bullied.”

“That’s really sweet” Stiles says, looking at Derek.

“It’s what brothers do” Derek says with a shrug, hoping his face isn’t as bright red as it feels.

“Still” Stiles shrugs, “I don’t have any siblings. I only have Scott, who’s always been like a brother to me. Even more so now that our parents are dating.”

“Scott – he’s at our school right?” Derek says, Stiles nods.

“Yeah, studying to be a vet” he says, “He volunteers at the animal shelter, like your sister.”

“Oh, yeah. I think I’ve met him” he says absently, trying his best not to stare at Stiles.

“So – Stiles” Cora says sweetly, “Did you know that  - for the past three months – my brother has been telling me about a mysterious guy he met at the library?”

“Huh? Really?” Stiles says, Derek tries to ignore the blush creeping up his cheeks.

“Yeah” Cora says innocently, “About how they never really talk, but that he’s really cute and adorable. About how he’s always chewing on his pen – which is, apparently, really distracting – or swaying to his music. And for the past few months I’ve been telling him to man up and ask the guy out.”

“Have you now” Stiles says, blushing even harder as he purposely avoids Derek’s gaze, “So, why didn’t he?”

“Well, he says that – and I quote – he’s not sure he was into guys” Cora says with a shrug, “And that he was probably misinterpreting the whole situation.”

“Huh” Stiles says, finally looking up to find Derek standing awkwardly in the living room, “He should’ve just asked, I guess.”

“Really?” Cora says with a wicked grin, “I mean – I feel like I’ve really gotten to know you these past two hours, Stiles.”

“Right back at you” Stiles says with a warm smile.

“The thing is, getting to know me is easy” she says, standing up from her chair, “My dear brother, however. That will take some time.”

She walks over to him and gives him a kiss on the cheek, “So, I have to go now, I completely forgot I’m meeting up with Isaac” she says innocently, pretending to check her watch – which would’ve worked had she actually been wearing one, “Why don’t you kids get to know each other?”

She walks towards the door and grabs her jacket, phone, and wallet.

“You’re not really being subtle, Cora” Derek hisses as she passes him, she grins at him, glancing at Stiles over her shoulder.

“I know, Der” she says, smiling sweetly, “That’s because subtlety doesn’t work on you.”

 

~~~

“So” Stiles says after a while, breaking the silence left in Cora’s wake, “Is it me or is your sister trying to set us up?”

Derek snorts, and the suddenly he’s laughing and he can’t stop and when he finally catches his breath and looks up he finds Stiles staring at him with his eyes wide and his mouth open.

“Sorry” he says quickly and Stiles shakes his head.

“Don’t be” he says, getting off the chair and putting down the pen he was fumbling with, “Never apologize for laughing, Derek. That’s the stupidest thing in the world.”

“Really?” he asks, Stiles smiles and nods, taking another step towards Derek, “What should I apologize for, then?”

He says it determinedly, hoping his intent is clear as he says it and Stiles grins.

“Well, maybe for not asking me out?” he says, biting his lip and looking at him through his eyelashes.

“Hmm, and how does one apologize for something like that?” Derek asks, trying and failing to suppress a grin.

“Well – I think drinks are a good start” Stiles suggest, “What do you think?”

“I know a great place.”

 

~~~

 

“So” Cora says a week later when she walks into the apartment and finds Derek and Stiles intertwined on the couch, “Does that mean I don’t have to pay for tutoring anymore?”

“Hmm” Stiles shoots her a look as Derek buries his face in his neck and kisses him, “How about a friend’s discount?”

“Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it. Let me know.  
> I'm off to bed now. I have to get up to teach in - 5 hours.  
> Crap.


End file.
